


Laughter

by FaerieE



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Background Character Death, Barbara Gordon is Batgirl, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dick Grayson is Robin, Gen, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd is Robin, Laughter, No Dialogue, Passing of the Mantle, Stephanie Brown is Batgirl, Stephanie Brown is Robin, Tim Drake is Robin, Unreliable Narrator, and then resurrection, at least when they start out, the average criminal doesn't know the whole story, the robins are children, vigilantes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28907940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaerieE/pseuds/FaerieE
Summary: It used to be a joke among criminals in the Gotham underground that the scariest part of Batman was his silence. That he would drop in so unexpectedly without warning. They soon realized they were wrong. The scariest part wasn’t the silence. It was the laughter.
Relationships: Gotham City & Robin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 128





	Laughter

It used to be the case that if your life got bad and you had no choice but to delve into the more illegal side of things that heading to Gotham was your best bet. The city was so crime-ridden that one more criminal made little difference. You could fit in, do a little crime here or there, and make a living, albeit a dishonest one.

If you were lucky you would be hired as a henchman of a supervillain and then be under their protection. While you would have to start at the bottom being a henchman always gave you the opportunity to rise higher.

No one was any true opposition to stopping crime in Gotham. It was a good place to be a criminal. Until Batman.

It started as merely an unbelievable rumor, that a dark shadowy figure would drop unexpectedly and put a stop to the illegal activities of criminals. But eventually there were enough witnesses and enough police finding already-tied-up criminals that everyone began to believe these rumors.

Batman became an expected risk that came with being a criminal in Gotham. Even the police eventually recognized him as an ally enough that they stopped trying to catch him. Batman quickly became more and more effective and more and more feared by the police.

It used to be a joke among criminals in the Gotham underground that the scariest part of Batman was his silence. That he would drop in so unexpectedly without warning. They soon realized they were wrong. The scariest part wasn’t the silence. It was the laughter.

A small team of henchmen would be minding their own business, doing their grunt work, when their small talk would be interrupted by a laugh. A gleeful cackle of a child having fun. Only this was the middle of the night in the slums of Gotham, no child should have been playing at this time and place.

Then a child would appear, cartwheeling into or otherwise entering the room dressed in bright colors. The first few dozen times it happened the henchmen wouldn’t even know how to react. Then the child would begin his attack. Once the henchmen gained their senses and began to fight back it was usually too late. Either the child would have dispatched them, or the Batman would have arrived as backup to the child.

Eventually word got around that the child, this Robin, while not as scary as the Batman, was another threat to Gotham criminals. At first it was rare to see Robin without Batman, but that slowly became more frequent to see. Robin became a more effective fighter and the Gotham criminals became more used to his existence. 

They became used to the realization that there were vigilantes here to stay and defend Gotham, and if the appearance of a Batgirl said anything, their numbers were only growing. The scariest thing wasn’t batman’s silence anymore. The laughter was just as scary. Robin’s happy cackles became recognizable... and feared. So, when the laughter sounded different the criminals noticed.

This laughter was more like a darker chuckle. Like Robin was laughing at them rather than just being a child at play. Robin didn’t fight with as much twirls and tricks. In fact, he seemed like a less capable fighter then before. Batman stayed close like in the first years of Robin’s run.

Those that were most familiar with Robin soon learned that this Robin was a different child altogether. This one fought as if with anger boiling under the surface, this one needed Batman’s reminders to not go too far. This one picked up on fighting quickly and he used street-fighting tricks to get the upper-hand against criminals. This one was another child, but who had amazing potential to be a huge threat. The criminals of Gotham learned to be wary of Robin’s chuckles. Then the laughter stopped.

Robin went missing and Batman became more violent. If the criminals had thought that Batman had held Robin back, they soon realized that Robin also held Batman back. Without Robin silence where there otherwise would be laughter was painful for both Batman and the Gotham criminals.

The criminals were almost happy when there began to be rumors of Robin sightings again. Sure enough, the Gotham criminals once again were defeated by a laughing child. This one didn’t laugh as often, he took his job very seriously, but occasionally he would let out the occasional giggle or even a snort if a criminal messed up to badly.

Once again Batman and Robin were inseparable. Although this time it almost seemed as if Batman was afraid to let Robin out of his sight. This time it took twice as long before Robin would ever be found without Batman. Even then it became known that if you hurt Robin another vigilante, whether it be Batman, Batgirl, or the neighboring city’s Nightwing, would make you regret it.

There was an interesting period when the laughter came from a female Robin. She was blonde unlike any of the other dark-haired Robins. She laughed frequently. It was more of a mirth-filled chortle. Even the dumbest of criminals were finally realizing that there wasn’t any singular Robin. Yet soon enough the Robin from before returned to his position as Robin. And then Red-Robin. Most criminals suspected the new blonde Batgirl to have been the same person as the female Robin, but there was never any way to prove it for certain.

There was a new Robin and the rumors spread that this one was scarier than Batman. Most criminals brushed it aside at first. After all, if you wanted to find someone scarier then Batman then the Red Hood, who wasn’t opposed to murder like Batman was, would be a good place to look. But the rumors not only persisted but began to build.

Rumors would claim that the new Robin wasn’t even human, rather that he was a demon in disguise. Or perhaps that he was raised from birth to be a human weapon. While the other Robins were lighter versions of the dark shadowy figure that was Batman this Robin seemed more like an abyss of darkness all on his own and it struck fear into the hearts of the Gotham criminals.

You see it had been awhile since the criminals had to fight such an unassuming and small child. Somehow, without the criminals even noticing it (as aging usually happens), the ages of these Robins had slowly become larger, each new one starting at an older age then the one before had started at. So, to see a small child again was somehow a shock again.

Not only that but most of the Robins started out comparatively ineffective and needed Batman’s backup often at first. The criminals weren’t expecting this one to be as proficient as a fighter right from the start. It was unexpected. This Robin was also more violent than any Robin before. So, the rumors grew.

The Criminals of Gotham used to claim that the scariest part of Batman was the silence. They learned that there were things just as frightening in their own rights. Especially the laughter of a Robin.


End file.
